Specialized astrocytes mediate glutamatergic gliotransmission in the CNS.

Multimodal astrocyte-neuron communications govern brain circuitry assembly and function. For example, through rapid glutamate release, astrocytes can control excitability, plasticity and synchronous activity of synaptic networks, while also contributing to their dysregulation in neuropsychiatric conditions. For astrocytes to communicate through fast focal glutamate release, they should possess an apparatus for Ca-dependent exocytosis similar to neurons.

Neuroanatomical Correlates of the Late Positive Potential in Youth with Pediatric Bipolar Disorder.

Background: The late positive potential (LPP) could be a marker of emotion dysregulation in youth with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). However, the neuroanatomical correlates of the LPP are still not clarified.

Objective: To provide cortical and deep gray matter correlates of the LPP in youth, specifically, youth with PBD.

Different belowground responses to elevated ozone and soil water deficit in three European oak species (Quercus ilex, Q. pubescens and Q. robur).

Effects on roots due to ozone and/or soil water deficit often occur through diminished belowground allocation of carbon. Responses of root biomass, morphology, anatomy and ectomycorrhizal communities were investigated in seedlings of three oak species: Quercus ilex L., Q.

Developing a new predictor of health expenditure: preliminary results from a primary healthcare setting.

Objectives: Risk adjustment is a widely used tool for health expenditure prediction and control. Early approaches for estimating health expenditure were based on patient demographic variables alone, whereas more recent models incorporate patient information, such as chronic medical conditions, clinical diagnoses, and self-reported health status. Many studies have investigated the health expenditure predictive capacity of single demographic, morbidity, or health-related quality of life measures, but the best models prove to be those that include them all.

Composition and emission of VOC from biogas produced by illegally managed waste landfills in Giugliano (Campania, Italy) and potential impact on the local population.

The composition in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) of the biogas produced by seven landfills of Giugliano (Naples, Campania, Italy) was determined and VOC emission rates assessed to verify if these compounds represent a potential threat to the population living nearby. VOC composition in the biogas could not be predicted, as heterogeneous waste was dumped from the late 1980s to the early 2000s and then underwent biological degradation. No data are available on the amount and composition of VOC in the biogas before the landfills closure as no operational biogas collection system was present.

Studying Axon-Astrocyte Functional Interactions by 3D Two-Photon Ca Imaging: A Practical Guide to Experiments and "Big Data" Analysis.

Recent advances in fast volumetric imaging have enabled rapid generation of large amounts of multi-dimensional functional data. While many computer frameworks exist for data storage and analysis of the multi-gigabyte Ca imaging experiments in neurons, they are less useful for analyzing Ca dynamics in astrocytes, where transients do not follow a predictable spatio-temporal distribution pattern. In this manuscript, we provide a detailed protocol and commentary for recording and analyzing three-dimensional (3D) Ca transients through time in GCaMP6f-expressing astrocytes of adult brain slices in response to axonal stimulation, using our recently developed tools to perform interactive exploration, filtering, and time-correlation analysis of the transients.

Gender differences in health expenditure determinants: A follow-up study.

Researchers' aim was to investigate if patients/physicians characteristics could differently affect males/females health care expenditure. In 2009/2010, a health-related-quality-of-life (HRQL) measure was distributed to 887 general practitioners' (GP) patients in Siena's province-Italy. Severity of diseases was calculated through Cumulative Illness Rating Scale Severity Index (CIRS-SI).

Role of oral nystatin prophylaxis in cardiac surgery with prolongedextracorporeal circulation.

Duration >120 minutes of extracorporeal circulation (ECC) during cardiopulmonary bypass procedure was associated to an increased risk of candidemia in the intensive care unit (ICU). To evaluate oral nystatin prophylaxis in cardiac surgery considering its exclusive effect on Candida, in the absence of systemic effects and selection of resistant strains to polyene. We conducted an observational study in the postcardiac surgery ICU of Policlinico "Umberto I" of Rome.

Effect of Xenon Anesthesia Compared to Sevoflurane and Total Intravenous Anesthesia for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery on Postoperative Cardiac Troponin Release: An International, Multicenter, Phase 3, Single-blinded, Randomized Noninferiority Trial.

Background: Ischemic myocardial damage accompanying coronary artery bypass graft surgery remains a clinical challenge. We investigated whether xenon anesthesia could limit myocardial damage in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients, as has been reported for animal ischemia models.

Methods: In 17 university hospitals in France, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands, low-risk elective, on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients were randomized to receive xenon, sevoflurane, or propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia for anesthesia maintenance.

Testing a ratio of photosynthesis to O uptake as an index for assessing O-induced foliar visible injury in poplar trees.

Visible foliar injury by ozone (ozone visible injury) is known as a biomarker to assess potential phytotoxicity of ozone. We investigated ozone visible injury in an ozone-sensitive poplar (Oxford clone) under a 2-year free-air controlled exposure (FACE) experiment and calculated three ozone indices (i.e.

Three-dimensional Ca imaging advances understanding of astrocyte biology.

Astrocyte communication is typically studied by two-dimensional calcium ion (Ca) imaging, but this method has not yielded conclusive data on the role of astrocytes in synaptic and vascular function. We developed a three-dimensional two-photon imaging approach and studied Ca dynamics in entire astrocyte volumes, including during axon-astrocyte interactions. In both awake mice and brain slices, we found that Ca activity in an individual astrocyte is scattered throughout the cell, largely compartmented between regions, preponderantly local within regions, and heterogeneously distributed regionally and locally.

How Does the Amount and Composition of PM Deposited on Platanus acerifolia Leaves Change Across Different Cities in Europe?

Particulate matter (PM) deposited on Platanus acerifolia tree leaves has been sampled in the urban areas of 28 European cities, over 20 countries, with the aim of testing leaf deposited particles as indicator of atmospheric PM concentration and composition. Leaves have been collected close to streets characterized by heavy traffic and within urban parks. Leaf surface density, dimensions, and elemental composition of leaf deposited particles have been compared with leaf magnetic content, and discussed in connection with air quality data.

A new-generation 3D ozone FACE (Free Air Controlled Exposure).

To artificially simulate the impacts of ground-level ozone (O) on vegetation, ozone FACE (Free Air Controlled Exposure) systems are increasingly recommended. We describe here a new-generation, three-dimensional ozone FACE, with O diffusion through laser-generated micro-holes, pre-mixing of air and O, O generator with integral oxygen generator, continuous (day/night) exposure and full replication. Based on three O levels and assumptions on the pre-industrial O levels, we describe principles to calculate relative yield/biomass and estimate impacts even at lower-than-ambient O levels.

BVOC responses to realistic nitrogen fertilization and ozone exposure in silver birch.

Emission of BVOC (Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds) from plant leaves in response to ozone exposure (O3) and nitrogen (N) fertilization is poorly understood. For the first time, BVOC emissions were explored in a forest tree species (silver birch, Betula pendula) exposed for two years to realistic levels of O3 (35, 48 and 69 ppb as daylight average) and N (10, 30 and 70 kg ha(-1) yr(-1), applied weekly to the soil as ammonium nitrate). The main BVOCs emitted were: α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, ocimene, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) and hexanal.

Effects of long-term ambient ozone exposure on biomass and wood traits in poplar treated with ethylenediurea (EDU).

This is the longest continuous experiment where ethylenediurea (EDU) was used to protect plants from ozone (O3). Effects of long-term ambient O3 exposure (23 ppm h AOT40) on biomass of an O3 sensitive poplar clone (Oxford) were examined after six years from in-ground planting. Trees were irrigated with either water or 450 ppm EDU.

Variable electrobehavioral patterns during focal nonconvulsive status epilepticus induced by unilateral intrahippocampal injection of kainic acid.

Objective: Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (ncSE) is a severe condition that may result in neurologic sequelae and epilepsy resistant to pharmacologic treatment. We analyze here seizure and electroencephalography (EEG) patterns and their correlation to the development of a chronic epileptic condition in a guinea pig model of focal ncSE induced by intrahippocampal injection of kainic acid (KA).

Methods: Electrobehavioral patterns during ncSE induced by unilateral injection of 1 μg of KA in the CA1 region of the hippocampus were characterized by continuous video-EEG monitoring in 13 guinea pigs bilaterally implanted with recording electrodes in the hippocampus and neocortex.

Determinants of stomatal sluggishness in ozone-exposed deciduous tree species.

Our knowledge of ozone effects on dynamic stomatal response is still limited, especially in Asian tree species. We thus examined ozone effects on steady-state leaf gas exchange and stomatal dynamics in three common tree species of China (Ailanthus altissima, Fraxinus chinensis and Platanus orientalis). Seedlings were grown and were exposed to three levels of ozone in open-top chambers (42, 69, 100 nmol mol(-1) daylight average, from 09:00 to 18:00).

Early, intermediate and late infectious complications after transcatheter or surgical aortic-valve replacement: a prospective cohort study.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been proposed to treat older surgical high-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. There are no data regarding short-term and long-term infectious complications in these patients. The objective of this study was to define the incidence, aetiology and outcome of early and late infectious complications following TAVI compared with patients >65 years old undergoing traditional surgical aortic replacement (SAR).

Hippocampal hyperexcitability and specific epileptiform activity in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome.

Purpose: Dravet syndrome (DS) is caused by dominant mutations of the SCN1A gene, encoding the NaV 1.1 sodium channel α subunit. Gene targeted mouse models of DS mutations replicate patients' phenotype and show reduced γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibition.

Seizure-like discharges induced by 4-aminopyridine in the olfactory system of the in vitro isolated guinea pig brain.

Purpose: The study of the interactions leading to network- or region-specific propagation of seizures is crucial to understand ictogenesis. We have recently found that systemic (arterial) application of the potassium channel blocker, 4-aminopyridine (4AP), induces different and independent seizure activities in olfactory and in limbic structures. Here, we have characterized the network and cellular features that support 4AP-induced seizure-like events in the olfactory cortex.

A guinea pig model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy following nonconvulsive status epilepticus induced by unilateral intrahippocampal injection of kainic acid.

Purpose:   Models of temporal lobe epilepsy are commonly utilized to study focal epileptogenesis and ictogenesis. The criteria that define animal models representative of human mesial temporal lobe may vary in different laboratories. We describe herein a focal epilepsy model of mesial temporal (hippocampal) origin that relies on the analysis of interictal and ictal electroencephalography (EEG) patterns and on their correlation with seizure symptoms and neuropathologic findings.

Status epilepticus-induced pathologic plasticity in a rat model of focal cortical dysplasia.

We have generated an experimental 'double-hit' model of chronic epilepsy to recapitulate the co-existence of abnormal cortical structure and frequently recurrent seizures as observed in human focal cortical dysplasia. We induced cortical malformations by exposing rats prenatally to methylazoxymethanol acetate and triggered status epilepticus and recurrent seizures in adult methylazoxymethanol acetate rats with pilocarpine. We studied the course of epilepsy and the long-term morphologic and molecular changes induced by the occurrence of status epilepticus and subsequent chronic epilepsy in the malformed methylazoxymethanol acetate exposed brain.